Christmas Eve Memories

Around the age of seven I developed insomnia. This insomnia became especially unbearable on Christmas Eve. Since my parents already saw 5:30 am as a Christmas morning wake up time as pushing it (there is video proof of us waking up at 1:30 am in 1983), I needed to find things to do to keep myself occupied. Luckily I learned to read very early on and come 1988 or 1989 I had access to the Disney Channel.

Some of you may remember a time when The Disney Channel actually used to show a balanced mix of TV programming. In the morning there was kid shows like Dumbo's Circus and Mouse Factory, then in the afternoon there was Kid's Incorporated and The Mickey Mouse Club. In the early evening there was family programming like Avonlea and various Disney Channel movies. After that there was Disney Night Time (and later on Vault Disney, but that's another entry entirely). Disney Night Time was chock full of concerts, Conversations with Carol Burnett and Conversations with Bob Hope, and old movies. On Christmas Eve they would play Christmas programming all night long. I remember year after year being wide away and watching

It's a Wonderful Life

The Bishop's Wife

The Judy Garland Christmas Show

and

Best of Bing Crosby Family Christmas Specials

Now thanks to YouTube and my DVD collection I can see these videos again!

Nowadays I spend part of Christmas Eve day watching

Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas

Jim Henson's Christmas Toy

Muppet Family Christmas

and

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

It's funny how when I was little I would watch the adult programming and now as an adult I spend Christmas Eve watching the kid's programming!

The Toys That Got Away

Yesterday, in the interest of killing time, I asked my students what they had asked Santa for. Their lists brought back fond childhood memories since most of the toys of my childhood have been recycled and re purposed. Later on I got to thinking about the Christmas toys I had loved and that I dreamed of getting.

My brother and I were lucky to have been very, very spoiled from the ages of birth to eleven  (me)/ten (my Bro). Because we were very fortunate I only remember two toys that I desperately wanted but did not get. They are the toys that got away.

Toy That Got #1: Strawberry Shortcake Berry Happy Home

Unlike Toy That Got Away #2, I would still love to own this toy. In 1984 this was all I wanted for Christmas.... I strategized and figured I would ask for Rainbow Brite for my February birthday. I was coming of the high of the previous Christmas when my Grandmother got me a Cabbage Patch Kid (her name is Gloria Diane and she currently lives on my couch), and I figured that between Santa, my parents, or my grandparents someone would get me this house! Instead I got Rainbow Brite. She and I had good years together, but inside I always held a little piece of my heart for the Berry Happy Home.
Five years ago, while on a nostalgia kick I discovered wishbookweb.com. While perusing their scans of the 1984 Montgomery Ward catalog I found out why I didn't receive the Berry Happy Home.

Can you see the price quoted in the ad? They wanted $150.00 bucks for the Berry Happy Home .... in 1984!!!!!!!!! We were upper middle class, not millionaires! I have to confess that I occasionally search Ebay in the hopes of finding a fully furnished Berry Happy Home that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. So far it hasn't happened.

Fun Side note: See the Fisher Price dollhouse on the first page? I got that dollhouse from Santa in 1983. I loved that dollhouse ... until the day my brother colored all over it in what he still claims to this day, was retaliation for my coloring on something of his. I don't think I ever did, but he sticks to this story. We talked about it two weeks ago in the same conversation where I had his wife ask him if he was going to let his soon to be born baby girl play with his Legos, or was he going to get her her own.

He is still undetermined about whether or not he is willing to share his Lego collection with his offspring.... but I digress.

Toy That Got Away #2: Baby Alive

Oh, how I wanted Baby Alive. She drank, she ate, she went potty! Baby Alive was the number 1 thing on my Christmas list in 1985, but Christmas morning came and she was nowhere to be found. I wish I could tell you what I got instead, but I don't remember. I do remember the confusion and sadness I felt at the fact that Santa had done me wrong. I remember watching my best friend play with her Baby Alive and simmering. Years later, after financial tides had turned,  when we were discussing past Christmases I finally asked my mother why I didn't get Baby Alive. She told me that she was all set to buy her for me when she found out that the powdered food rotted in Baby Alive's stomach. As an adult I can see that that is indeed a valid reason for not purchasing a toy, no matter how desperately she was wanted. By that point I had also been babysitting for two years and had changed my fair share of diapers. Changing diapers sucks. Why in God's name did I ever want a toy that pooped?

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and that Santa brings you everything you asked for!

Christmas Denial

Dear December 24th,

I see that according to my calendar you are happening tomorrow. I don't think this could be true though. Aren't you supposed to be at least another whole week away? If you were still a week away I could feel comfortable about how little "Christmas" I have accomplished. As is stands I am going to have to wake up early to wrap presents, for I don't think my family will appreciate naked and unfestooned gifts. I hate wrapping presents! I've given up hope of getting any cookies baked. This is actually OK because I don't need to eat them, but Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas without cookies. So what do you say December 24th? Can you hold off for a little bit longer?

Best wishes,
me

So That Happened

Went to Dentist.
Dentist drilled large hole in tooth and did things to nerves.
Dentist told me to come back again in order to finish off root canal & rebuild my tooth.
Paid  Desk Woman $175.00.
Desk Woman then told me this all of the rest is going to cost $3,000.00.
I am royally, royally fucked.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Tomorrow I have to go to make an emergency visit to the dentist. It's not going to be fun and it isn't going to be cheap. Plus side though; I get to sleep in a little on Monday so I can afford to be a little lazy on this chilly, December Sunday.

Currently listening too:

Alexz Johnson - "Skipping Stone"

I can't wait until this EP comes out in January. Until then if you like what you hear you can download "Skipping Stone" for free at www.Alexzjohnson.com.

Currently Watching:

Doctor Who

I'm on episode 4 and aliens have landed in present day London.

 I am seriously doubting the Doctor's ability to tell time accurately.

Currently Reading:

The Great Santa Search by Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guinn

Tis the season to read the Christmas Chronicles. These books never fail to fill me with the Christmas spirit! Reading them also helps me to kick ass whenever my family plays Tis the Season: The Christmas Trivia Game.

Currently Working on:

Finishing up Holiday Presents!

1. A scarf for my co-teacher made out of  Yarn Bee Highland Thistle

 in the Highland Fling Colorway. Side note, I really wish we had a Hobby Lobby here in New Jersey and that Hobby Lobby still sold the Highland Thistle yarn.

 It was one of my favorites!

2. Framing and matting my aunt's present. It isn't as easy to find a collage frame with 5x7 photo openings as I thought it would be. There should be more!

3. Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping.

When lazy time is over it is back to the housework grind.

 I hope everyone else is enjoying their Sundays.

Taking Stock

Dear Universe,

Contrary to popular belief I do not live under a rock. The fact that 2011 is rapidly drawing to a close and that 2012 is peeking out from around the corner has not escaped my attention. I considered, for a wee bit, trying to live in denial because there were still a few old resolutions that I had not yet fulfilled, but that approach wasn’t successful when I turned 30, so I doubt that it would work now. Instead of dwelling on what I have not accomplished, I decided this morning to be positive (for once) and think about what I did achieve this year.

In 2011 I not only got my Master’s Degree while working two jobs and dealing with some serious family issues, but I managed to do so with a 4.0 grade point average. At the time I kept thinking that this was no big deal, but you know what?  I’ve decided that this is indeed something to be proud of. It was hard work and I really put my nose to the grindstone … even though at the time I was never sure whether or not it would all be worth it in the end.

Turns out it was. Not only did I get the degree, but I actually managed to find a job in that field within four months of graduating. That’s not easy to do in this economy. Sure I have student loan debt that could rival the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and I picked a field that really doesn’t pay well, but I’ve discovered I’m really good at what I do. This is a nice change after my pride was squashed by my former job. It takes baby steps and I’m considering 2012 my rebuilding year. If sports teams can do it why can’t I?

The next block I have to tackle is the big one. It is the block that is holding me back from achieving every other thing I want out of life. I am almost (gulp) 32 and I can’t drive. Don’t get me wrong I actually possess a driver’s license and have since I was seventeen, but a trained monkey can get a license in New Jersey. You take your test on a course … there’s no real road time involved. I don’t live in a big city so there aren’t super mass transit options. I need to depend on other people to get anywhere and that really isn’t cool.

Problem is I have a driving phobia that is so severe it leads to panic attacks. I’ve always been terrified of driving. I remember having nightmares that started when I was 6 or 7, in which my mother would leave my brother and I alone in the running car (something that never happened) and something would happen where I would need to drive the car in order to get us out of the way of danger. The dreams never ended with us being safe, instead they mostly ended up in fiery crashes. Fun, eh?

Last summer I took behind the wheel with an actual driving instructor and all that happened was I ended up $400.00 poorer after experiencing three hour blocks of heart palpitations. I don’t know what else to try, but I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to blow past my fear of hurting myself and/or others and take the car by the wheel, so to speak. This has to be the year or I’m never actually going to be able to move forward.

Dear Santa,

I hope your holiday season is going well. How is Mrs. Claus? I've left writing to you till almost too late, but I hope you will excuse my rudeness. Here is my 2011 Grownup Christmas List.

World Peace would be nice. While we're talking on a global level I would also appreciate an end to hunger, cruelty, and homelessness. I know you get asked for this a lot, but I keep hoping one day it might actually happen, so why not today?

On a more personal level I would love a financial miracle to help get my parents on their feet. Social security and disability only go so far and neither of my parents are in great health. Like a lot of people now, we live check to check and there isn't any cushion available. I help out as much as I can, but over the last year they have had to empty my savings account and I don't have anything extra left over to give them. Don't get me wrong, we are far better off than many. We have a roof over our heads, no matter how dilapidated or crumbling down around us the house may be. We have food, clothes, and luxuries like cable, but there is always a huge debt cloud hanging over our heads. Yes they've made some financially irresponsible mistakes over the last nineteen years, but we've also had some rotten luck. Medical bills and prescription drugs are expensive. My father keeps his job for the health insurance because it offers cheaper coverage that Medicare. He's too old to be on his feet eight hours a day.

I would also like to ask for help for a couple people I met at my old job. One woman is very sick and another has just experienced such a loss, that I don't know how she will come back from it. Please send them both help, peace, and hope.

On a totally frivolous level I would also really love

A White iPhone 4S

I've coveted an iPhone since they first came on the market. I've never had a phone that can do anything. It's no fun living in a Smartphone driven world when your phone is the equivalent of two tin cans tied onto string. I'm adult enough to admit that a little pea sized emerald of jealousy glows inside my soul whenever I see my friends with theirs. Since I don't have a family plan that I can join I'm stuck. I just can't rationalize the $80 plus dollars a month it would cost to have the necessary data and calling plans, but man oh man, would it be nice to be able to access apps and to FaceTime with my bro, sis-in-law, and once she's born niece ... especially my niece ... she'll be so far away and I'll miss so much, since they have an iPad 2.

A Pink Nikon 1 with both interchangeable lenses

I've always loved photography and I've never owned a good digital camera before. I have spent years dreaming about a digital SLR camera but I admit that price tag aside, a digital SLR probably shouldn't be my starter camera. Tada! The point and shoot camera with interchangeable lenses ... and it's Pepto Bismol pink!!!

Peanuts Flannel Sheet Set - Full Size

To paraphrase "Happiness is Peanuts!" I have wanted these for three years now. I don't care if I'm adult I just want to cuddle up with my Linus security blanket and Peanuts sheets while watching my Peanuts box sets and reading my Complete Peanuts books!


So that is all Santa. I hope you have a nice holiday and a relaxing New Year. I look forward to seeing you soon.

A Blog In Which I Confess My Committment Issues

Hi blog,
I swear I haven't forgotten about you, and yes,  I know that ignoring you for months on end is no way to cultivate readership. Mea culpa! I just really haven't had anything interesting to say. All I do is go to work and then come home where I do housework, and then go to bed just so I can get up and do it all again. I'm in a grownup rut! I can't remember the last time I went on Facebook, and it has been even longer since I have seen Twitter's little blue birdie. I just spent an hour and a half speed reading all of X-Entertainment's Christmas Countdown entries because I feel guilty that I never got around to reading the Halloween Countdown. Here's a brief rundown of the vaguely interesting things that I have done/come upon lately:

1. In October I found out I am going to be an aunt for the very first time, and last Friday I found out that I'm getting a niece! So yeah, there has been some shopping and some baby sweater knitting going on.

2. Once Upon a Time / Grimm - It only took me an extra month and a half, but as of last Sunday I am totally caught up on this new series ... and I'm head over heels in love (Sheriff, Sheriff, Sheriff)! I have always really enjoyed fractured fairy tales and I'm having a ball trying to figure out what's going to happen next. I'm trying to catch up on Grimm via on Demand, but I have only seen the first two episodes. A little S.A.T.esque fairytale TV comparison for you all: Once Upon a Time is to Lost as Grimm is to C.S.I. . So far Once Upon a Time is holding my attention better than Grimm, but I do love the blodbaten.

3. Nerdist Podcast - I started listening to these over the summer and Chris Hardwicke, Jonah, and Matt now keep me company on each of my breaks. They've widened my nerdy horizons. Without them I never would have started up with:

4. Dr. Who - After years of avoiding it I have finally met the good Doctor. I know (because my friends have been telling me so for forever) that I'm supposed to love David Tennant, but since I started at the (new) beginning I'm enjoying Christopher Eccleston too much to ever imagine him regenerating out of my life.

As far as books go I have been in a serious book drought. Hopefully the drought will end over Christmas break.

Now if you'll excuse me Once Upon a Time has just started .... Oh God no. Bad Sheriff! Stop kissing that bloody witch!!!